Yosemite fire: What we know about the Ferguson Fire near the national park

Hot and dry weather on Tuesday hindered efforts to slow the growth of a forest fire near Yosemite National Park. The fire has burned more than 19 square miles. Officials issued a hazardous air alert due to the smoke. (July 18)
AP

Smoke from the Ferguson Fire blocks some landmarks from the view of visitors Brad Lyons, left, and Courtney Richard at Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.(Photo: Ron Holman)

During the busy summer season, people are being asked to evacuate Yosemite National Park. Here's what we know about the Ferguson Fire and why the wildfire is a concern, despite being outside the park.

Why are officials asking people to evacuate?

On Tuesday, people were asked to evacuate Yosemite National Park due to heavy smoke settling in the area.

The park's closure takes effect at noon Wednesday and applies to all hotels, campgrounds and visitor services in Yosemite Valley and Wawona. Anyone staying there will be required to leave, and no one will be allowed back in until at least Sunday, park officials said.

The smoke, which stems from the Ferguson Fire that ignited on July 13, has burned more than 36,600 acres, AccuWeather reports, and since Tuesday has only been 25% contained.

The fire started near 140 east of El Portal, California, in the Sierra National Forest. The fire is burning on the rugged terrain adjacent to the park, and officials say that as the Ferguson Fire develops, it poses a threat to Yosemite National Park.

At least 2,000 people visited the park on Tuesday, park officials confirmed, adding that they would close Highway 41, which leads to the center of the popular park.

Rich Eagan, a public information officer for the Ferguson Fire, said the reason for the evacuation "isn't because there's a fire in that area."

"The reason why they're evacuating is because they're strategically, they're going to try to backfire that area and have the fire meet with the southeastern portion of the fire, so it's not because the fire is in the park."

Backfiring is the process by which firefighters burn fuel in the path of a wildfire in order to either redirect the fire or to keep it from spreading.

“There will be some kind of a firing operation that takes place seven miles to get us to Wawona," Rocky Opliger, deputy incident fire commander, told Visalia Times-Delta. "And that’s critical, that we have all the folks working in there. We’ll have to shut down the 41, there’s no other way of implementing this plan,"

Officials say smoke from a forest fire near Yosemite National Park is affecting air quality in central California. A timelapse video shows smoke enveloping the well-known Half Dome rock formation in the park. (July 16)
AP

Which parts of the park will be closed and for how long?

Wawona to Yosemite Valley areas of the national park will be closed starting Wednesday, with Sunday as the earliest possible reopening.

"The 41 is being shut down, to Yosemite. You'll still have access up towards the top on the 120, but the southern eastern portion of the park will be closed. They're going to be evacuating people -- they actually started evacuating people today, but it will be shut down and they don't know how long," Eagan said.

"They're anticipating reevaluating on Sunday, but there is no given time on how long it's going to be shut down for."

Wildfires are common, evacuations are rare

While the smoke that wraps the park is good reason to stay away, this isn't the first time Yosemite National Fire faced the threat of wildfires.

In September, multiple fires burned through the park with lightning as the culprit. In 2016, a confirmed lightning strike tree was observed and resulted in a 3.2-acre surface fire, according to the National Park Service, which described the fire as "smoldering and creeping in brush, timber and duff, with moderate spread potential."

Still, this doesn't mean the park has been shut down often. Tuesday marks the first time in 28 years that the park has been closed due to fire -- the last time having been during the A-Rock fire at Foresta and El Portal, which burned 17,700 acres, destroying several homes on the park, according to the Associated Press.